Posts Tagged ‘free pattern’

Knit in two colors of Cascade 220 Wool Heather and Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted, our easy Windowpane French Press Cozy adds a cheery dash of color to your breakfast table. Any yarn of a similar gauge will work, like Koigu Kersti. Pockets formed from strands on the wrong side trap hot air keeping your press hotter longer. You could knit one up in less than a day, and have it blocked just in time for Mother’s Day brunch!

It may look complicated, but the colorwork is actually bands of color with a lattice of slipped stitches over the top. Even though you have three balls to manage, you’re only knitting in one of the contrast colors while slipping the main color.

At the beginning of each right side row, wrap the working yarn (in this case the yellow strand) around the strands not in use. By catching the non-working yarn, you avoid long vertical floats between stripes and wind up with fewer strands to weave in.

Here’s a view of the wrong side. As you can see, the non working yarn travels up the edge, trapped under the first stitch of each right side row.

Back on the right side; the windowpane effect is created by alternating between knitting in the contrast color (yellow) and slipping the main color (white).

After slipping two stitches in the main color, strand the contrast color and continue knitting.

Needles: Size 11 (& larger size for cast on if desired, This was cast on with #15 needles)

Cable Needle (or dpn for cabling)
Darning needle for weaving in ends.

We are very excited to share this free pattern with you! Keri created the Washington Square Scarf with our go-to chunky yarn, Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande. It has an all-over cabled motif and seed stitch edging, and knits up fast.

Last year, Liz created a gorgeous stroller blanket using six bright shades of Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton. We offered it to newsletter subscribers and it was a huge hit! Everyone agrees with us that Blue Sky makes the most luscious cotton yarn, so soft and easy to work with that it hardly feels like cotton.

We’ve received a lot of requests to size the blanket up a bit. It took a little while, but we listened!

We’ve got a brand new version with two sizes, the original stroller blanket and a larger crib blanket. We thought it would be nice to offer this one to everybody, so here it is!

Manos Silk Blend is one of our favorite dk-weight yarns– a blend of silk and extrafine merino wool, the color ranges of the solid and the multi are stunning.

So– what can you make in this lovely yarn? Well, pretty much anything, but here’s some inspiration.

The pattern is Annis (a free pattern on knitty!) by Susanna IC, and was written to be knit with laceweight yarn, but Liz’s version looks absolutely gorgeous knit with Manos Silk Blend in the colorway Bing Cherry.

We all love making lace patterns with different yarn weights, the stitch patterns show up beautifully. The silk blend is especially gorgeous for making this shawl and has such depth and texture that Liz is planning to make another one in a different color!

I put the sample on this morning and haven’t taken it off yet. The fabric created by the loose, open stitches is soft, smooth and lovely to wear.

Come see the range of colors in person– the silk content makes this yarn glow! In the meantime, I’m going to try to kidnap this shawl and take it home with me. Shhh…

It’s no secret that we’re crazy about Madelinetosh yarns. We mention it about once a week!

We’ve been carrying Tosh DK for a while, and we’re thrilled to offer a FREE pattern to go with it: the adorable Haberdashery Jacket. (Link goes to the pattern PDF. Keep reading for information on knitting the jacket.)

The evolution of this design is a funny one. It started when Liz found the perfect pattern to use for the Tosh DK store sample: the Honey Cowl, a free pattern from Madelinetosh. She chose to knit it in Vermillion, an amazing shade of red.

At the same time, she started work on the Haberdashery design, using Well Water, our favorite denim-y blue. Along the way, inspiration struck and the simple, classic jacket got a little added flair in the form of simple embroidery with yarn scraps left over from the cowl.

With our love of color, it seems just right. If you want to make a Haberdashery Jacket yourself, you can choose any color combination you like! We hope that you will allow your own creativity to shine.

The jacket is written in two sizes: 2 and 4 years. It is quite roomy, and should fit for a good long while in either direction. Our sample is in the larger size, and I brought my children in to model it over the weekend. Sam is nearly five, and Grace is 16 months. Photographing children is always a challenge, and although they both adore Leah I’m afraid we did not get any great shots. They were both anxious to play with Liz’s puppy Bella, but not very interested in the photo shoot. Oh well. I am including two pictures anyway, so that you can get an idea how the jacket fit them.

One of the most popular samples in Knit Culture Studio, the sideways-knit Koigu scarf that hangs on the ‘Great Wall of Koigu’. At least once a day, someone asks how many skeins, or how we did the fringe, or is it really just garter stitch?

At last, Leah has written up the pattern to share! The original, pictured, was created by Mary Hughes.

Easy Koigu Fringed Scarf
This faux-woven scarf is worked the long way and the optional fringe is created as you knit. If you want a simpler scarf with no fringe, just knit every row.

Knit one row. (If you wish to create the self-fringing ends, do the following: At the end of each row,
cut the working yarn leaving a 4″ tail. Re-tie the working yarn to this tail as close to your stitches as
you can, leaving another 4″ tail of the yarn dangling. You have created two strands of fringe that can
be trimmed later).

Repeat this row until desired width is achieved. The pictured scarf was worked for 62 rows.

I’ve had a few patterns published in Petite Purls, the online knitting magazine for children’s patterns, and I’m always amazed by the other patterns. Every issue makes me feel that I’m not worthy!

Case in point: ‘Seal Island’, a boys’ vest by Amanda Scheuzger. My four-year-old son, Sam, shouted when he saw it, so I knew I had to make him one. I substituted my favorite worsted yarn, Spud and Chloe Sweater, for the Berroco Vintage the pattern calls for. As you can see, it’s knitting up beautifully! I love the way cables pop in Sweater.

I was hoping to put the vest in his Easter basket. What do you think–can I finish knitting it in just a week? I have to tell you, I have my doubts.

We recently started carrying Malabrigo Rios, a light worsted yarn that is as squishy-soft as we’ve come to expect from Malabrigo, but is a plied yarn rather than their classic single. Liz asked me to take a skein home and come up with a free pattern. As you can imagine, I jumped at the chance to play with this lovely yarn!

Easy Trellis Lace Scarf
By Annika Barranti

I wanted to offer a pattern to show that lace doesn’t have to be difficult. This four-row pattern is easy to memorize, and very forgiving of mistakes. Can’t remember if row 1 or row 3 comes next? Just pick one. To substitute yarn, be sure to choose needles several sizes larger than recommended.

Finished measurements: Approx. 8″ x 60″

Materials:
Malabrigo Rios – 1 skein
US size 10.5 needles

Gauge:
3 sts = 1 inch in pattern stitch. Gauge is not critical for this pattern.

Instructions:
Cast on 25 stitches using the long tail method. Knit one row.

Begin lace pattern:
Row 1: knit 1, *yo, k2tog* to end
Rows 2 & 4: purl
Row 3: *k2tog, yo* to last stitch, knit 1
Repeat these four rows until you reach the desired length, or until approximately one yard of yarn
remains.

Knit one row. Bind off.
Weave in ends and block to open up the lace pattern.

This adorable hat is knit in the round on big needles so it can be whipped out in one evening. Knit with Katia Fabula, a superwash merino… so soft! The earflaps are knit first and then held on double points and added as you knit the brim.